Melbourne, Dec 20: Mickey Arthur, Australia coach and member of Australia's five-man selection panel along with captain Michael Clarke, will meet with the other selectors on Tuesday to name the squad for the forthcoming Test against India.
Speaking to the media ahead of the selection committee meeting, Arthur was quoted as saying, "Our preference for balance of the team is always to try to have an all-rounder and if we've got one who we think is capable of doing the job, he will play."
With speculation rife about former captain Ricky Ponting’s exclusion from the national side due to his lack of form, Arthur said, “Ricky Ponting is really vital to where we want to take this team. We are really hoping that he finds his form and hopefully that form is just around the corner.
"I've backed Ricky Ponting in, like I've backed Mike Hussey in for a period of time because I think they're crucial to the development of the side,” he added.
"For our young batters, to bat with guys like that is fantastic, but again, they need to keep giving us ammunition, they need to keep giving us performances,” Arthur explained.
"Nobody's guaranteed a start, nobody's got a privilege to play in the Australian cricket team. They've got to be producing the goods and giving us ammunition to play."
Arthur said playing back-to-back Tests in Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7) would be tough on a four-man bowling attack.
"I see the spinner [Nathan Lyon] bowling a huge amount more and we need to be able to fiddle some overs from our batters," the coach added.
He also said that his philosophy on picking a team included naming the six best batsmen and the four best bowlers and then picking a keeper.
"Dan Christian has done superbly well for South Australia. Stats will tell you that he could possibly be in our top six batters," Arthur said.
"If you can get some overs out of your best six batsmen, then that's a bonus."
